Regulatory mechanism set up for power units
The Ministry of Power has set up a regulatory compliance division to monitor distribution companies (discoms) as well as state regulatory commissions, Union minister of power and new and renewable energy RK Singh said on Thursday.
The minister met electricity regulators and norms on various parameters will be worked out soon, which would then be adopted by the state commissions.
Contractual and regulatory violations have not only deterred investment in the sector but also led to non-honouring of power purchase and sales agreements.
The Centre is of the view that the move will help state commissions adopt best practices and assist in faster implementation of reform and regulatory policies.
The power ministry is working on guidelines for resource adequacy and power procurement to deal with issues such as load fluctuation requirements, contract term, energy mix, and renewable obligations, etc. Sources said both these are expected in the next two to three months.
Singh emphasised the need for cleaning up the accounts of power distribution utilities, besides bringing about greater discipline in the sector. According to some recent reports, losses in the power distribution sector have come down to 21.8 per cent from over 25 per cent in 2014-15.
Technical and commercial issues related to electric vehicles and their charging were discussed during the meeting. These would be resolved by the state commissions so that EVS can be promoted, sources said.
The issue of cost-effective tariff and setting up of adequate number of consumer representatives and grievance redressal forums were also discussed.
Regulatory issues such as financial viability of distribution companies, payment of dues, reduction in AT&C losses, rollout of smart metering in prepayment mode, timely issuance of tariff orders, timely disposal of petitions, promotional tariff for EV charging stations, etc., were discussed during the meeting.
The Forum of Regulators had recently undertaken a study to analyze the impact of various factors on the retail tariff of electricity and to come up with steps to address them.